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snowblindmods) wrote2015-04-06 10:43 pm
snowblindmods) wrote2015-04-06 10:43 pm
Application
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Name: Sousuke Aizen
Canon: Bleach
Age: Aizen is at least over 110 years old, though canon never specifies how much older. As Tite Kubo only gives approximate ages for the truly ancient shinigami, there's really no way to be sure. However, he appears to be in his late twenties.
Gender: Male
Canon Point: Chapter 423, after his defeat and subsequent imprisonment for treason against Soul Society.
Background Link: Succinct. Not succinct.
Inventory: 1 Hougyoku (see Flavor Abilities) embedded in his sternum, 1 dresscoat(?) with incorporated gloves, 1 pair of boots, 1 pair of socks, 1 pair of pants
I hope, 1 weird headwrapping. Aizen's garb, for lack of a better term, is part of a system of seals that restrains and dampens his powers. However in Norfinbury they'll just be mundane cloth.Personality: Aizen is perhaps best described as two-faced. Initially, he is presented as one of the most kind and well-respected captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads -- a military organization of spiritual beings (shinigami) that works to protect both the living and the dead from hollows (which are essentially hungry ghosts) and to preserve the balance between the living world and the spirit world. It is later revealed that his benevolence was a deception. Even after betraying the other shinigami, nevertheless, Aizen remains soft-spoken and largely polite in his discourse with enemies and allies alike. He seems to be an intellectual first and foremost, often pausing to explain to his lessers (read: opponents, subordinates, et all) precisely how his complicated plans and inventions will work, or how he has been subtly stripping away their ability to oppose him while they didn't realize it. Despite how unshakably polite he speaks, he tends to address people in a patronizing manner. Though this can be as mild as using their given names (whereas most shinigami have been shown to favor surnames) it can extend to referring to those he betrayed in a manner that was once a sign of respect for their equal or superior standing amongst the shinigami. That is, despite his defection, he would likely still address his formers 'peers' as Captain. He also tends to be rather casual, attempting to engage in small talk in most instances, or draw out conversation with others, even on the field of battle. It's extraordinarily rare for him to show any sign of distress, in fact, and Aizen most often holds himself aloof and perhaps bemused with his surroundings, or how his plan is going.
And everything will go according to plan, should Aizen have his way. Largely unaffected by compassion or concern for his subordinates, Aizen sees those he commands (and practically everyone else) as pawns in a convoluted game of chess he is playing against all others. Willing to stop at nothing in pursuit of ascending from a mere shinigami to take the place of the Soul King (to kill Soul Society's god and replace him, in fact), Aizen has been plotting how to do so since at least a century prior to his defection from Soul Society and seems to have accounted for every detail. Whether as a simple intimidation tactic or merely another demonstration of his informative and polite nature, Aizen is repeatedly shown explaining how a situation initially perceived as a disadvantage to him is actually a necessary step down the path of his plan. The best example of this is when he tells Ichigo Kurosaki that he has known about him since he was born and that he has been guiding his actions since that time.
It isn't just the shinigami he deceives either. After defecting from the shinigami, Aizen amasses an army of hollows by promising them power in payment for servitude. He is repeatedly shown in polite conversation with the most powerful of these hollows, even in instances when he actually manipulating them. At times, these manipulations seem to be for nothing other than Aizen's own amusement, as he is shown provoking Grimmjow on several occasions to act out before turning around and punishing (or manipulating others to punish him) for it. The hollows serving under him, in fact, appear to do so out of a combination of respect and fear. One of them, about to die, proclaims that hollows follow Aizen because they are literally creatures born of fear, and because Aizen has no fear, they cannot help but feel inspired.
He is neat and orderly, charming and versatile. Aizen has honed his very demeanor into a weapon he wields expertly, but in doing so he further distances himself from those he seeks to guard against. Aizen is conceited. He believes he is the best and brightest, that no one can surpass him, and everyone is beneath him. He believes he is invincible even after he's been defeated. Aizen does not regard others as his equals, he will use them as he sees fit. By his own admission, he sees friendship and personal bonds as weakness. Once loved by his fellow captains and his subordinates, Aizen renounced them all without regret because he never cared for them, as that would have been compromising in his eyes. Aizen truly confides in no one, trusts in no one, and expects quarter from no one. Gin Ichimaru, his former lieutenant who defected from Soul Society alongside him, betrays him and tries to kill him, but Aizen saw it coming, even planned for it.
Due to his penchant for intense and detailed plotting, Aizen is exceedingly cautious. However, this does not merely stem from forward thinking. Though unparalleled in manipulation and highly intelligent, Aizen is not without his flaws. Chief amongst them is just how paranoid he really is. Though, his paranoia is not without reason. His manipulation and deception of the shinigami may have initially (or only later) stemmed from a desire to overthrow the Soul King, but in a way it was necessary merely due to his nature. His plots may have become grandiose and complex, but the cost of failure was high, a price he pays when at last he is defeated and imprisoned.
The Thirteen Court Guard Squads is a military organization from which there is no discharge, honorable or otherwise. Once an individual becomes a shinigami he does not have the option of leaving. Deserters and those shinigami deemed too dangerous to be allowed to remain in active duty are secretly imprisoned. Aizen's schemes to subvert the organization are convoluted and exacting because they have to be. Possessed of a rigid structure and replete with protocols and regulations, there is little opportunity amongst the shinigami to follow a path not set out by those of higher rank. While Aizen had attains the rank of captain before defecting, he remains under the whim of Central 46 and the captain commander. And Aizen, like so many deemed too dangerous for active duty, is different. He possesses more power than is natural to the shinigami. While it is his vast arrogance that leads him to assert that other shinigami are so inferior to him that they cannot comprehend his power, the reason he cannot identify with his fellows is not so simple.
Even so, Aizen is not the sort to readily show fear. He prides himself on being calm and collected, and it is through control that he feels most secure and naturally the loss of it most unnerves him. Indeed, control his main objective, whether it’s of himself, or the people around him. His zanpakutou (a blade which is also a piece of his soul), represents illusion, and is just another tool in her repertoire which he uses to manipulate others. He deals with losing control of the people he manipulates more easily than losing control of his own actions or capabilities. Regardless, it’s difficult to tell when he has truly lost control as each time Aizen has faced a setback he either dismisses it as immaterial or calmly denies that it was a setback at all and claims that it was just another facet of his Machiavellian plans. The only instance in which he drops this unflappable facade is when he is defeated by the combined efforts of Ichigo, the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, and their allies. When all of his accumulated power is ripped away in a second and more than a century’s worth of planning goes up in smoke, he finally loses his cool and launches into a diatribe that is cut off by the very kidou (magic spell) that defeated him.
I'm bringing Aizen in after he is captured and imprisoned, bound in sense-depriving wards and sealed in a solitary cell, a state of defeat that is shown to give him pause and possibly even get under his skin. As such, Aizen has some issues bubbling under the surface. First and foremost, he has failed. A plan that was more than a hundred years in the making crumbled before his eyes, and he has yet to move past that failure. The only acknowledgement he offers to his defeat is to muse aloud that those he considered so inferior where able to defeat him. If it's not already apparent, Aizen also has major trust issues. He holds people at arm’s length, believes he knows exactly what and who they are, but he wouldn't trust a single person other than himself. And why would he? After manufacturing a personality with which to deceive hundreds of people for decades, where the smallest slip up could cost him his life, Aizen is not about to open up. Furthermore, stripped of his powers as he will be, suddenly on the same level or even inferior to those around him, Aizen will very much have to adapt his perspective. Not that he’ll let on in if he can help it.
Flavor Abilities: The Hougyoku is a small bluish purple orb that Aizen used to transcend the barrier between hollows and shinigami in order to achieve the power to enter the royal dimension and defeat the Soul King. As Aizen ultimately failed to do this and it's unclear whether the Hougyoku is at fault, Aizen's got some issues with it. The fact that he embedded the thing in his chest probably doesn't help. Sadly, all of the Hougyoku's power will be gone in Snowblind, but I would like to keep a mocking little glow. It wouldn’t be a significant light source, or even be seen through his clothes. It would only be enough to be an irritating reminder that it's still there, and that he failed.
Suitability: In Bleach, Aizen is a character defined by his power. When Ichigo defeats him we learn he has been so overwhelmingly powerful for so long that he may actually have longed to find someone else on his level. Even after being defeated, Aizen is able to severely injure a trained soldier who simply steps too close to him. His power isolated him even when he pretended to be an amicable comrade in arms, and once he reveals his agenda he is quite literally placed in a sensory deprived solitary confinement. Though Norfinbury is essentially changing one cage for another, the fact that Aizen will not have his powers at all will, for once, make him an ant among the titans. Aizen talks more than once, and sometimes at length, about fear creating the potential for growth. What better way to explore his character growth than a place in which he'd actually have cause to be afraid?
Aizen already has issues with paranoia, isolation, and obsession. It's isolation that pushes him to reject his place in a world he judges inferior, and paranoia that further compounds his isolation. An obsession, specifically his obsession with the potential power Ichigo wields, contributes to his downfall. I certainly want to play with those aspects in this new territory where the only tools Aizen really has left are his wits.
Of course, Aizen isn't at a complete disadvantage. Though no longer a vastly powerful spiritual being, he is still a trained military captain. He has a keen mind and is capable of tactical reasoning. Furthermore, he is adept at unarmed combat and very physically fit. In canon Aizen has almost always been able to fall back on the fact that he outclasses everyone. The exception to this, when he was defeated, caused an outburst that broke his characteristic calm demeanor. Without his powers to fall back on, Aizen will be working without a net and may have to rely on people other than himself. Frankly, I want to see that most of all, because what sort of contortions will a self-deified paragon put himself through before he finally asks for help?
RP Samples: Thread 1, Thread 2
The cloying gray clouds seemed only partially distinguished from each other as they slouched down toward the bleary horizon. Windswept snow drifted with misleading smoothness across the crumbling dregs of the neighborhood Aizen had been picking his way across for the better part of the morning. If the rubble had even truly been a neighborhood. He honestly wasn't certain anymore. Earlier that morning, when the sky was still pink, he'd been able to spot the ruined little details like broken toys and splintered furniture that spoke of a residential area. Now, his eyes squinted up toward the gray sky too often, even as his feet wobbled as they drug through the snow. It was a sight Aizen was quickly becoming familiar with, and yet he still would have cast off every crude and necessary piece of gear he wore for the chance to stride up into that dreary sky and stand atop the wind.
Yet again he pushed aside the familiar impulse to bound up there. It was as impossible as it was imprudent. Exposing himself to the wind like that would only allow the cold to cut through his clothing anyway. Bitter chills already racked through him at infrequent intervals. The cooler air might bring relief to his head, which was over-warm and far too full, but even that would be a temporary ease in exchange for feeling worse later. Breathing was already starting to become a chore as it was, even through the comparable warmth of the cloth wrapped around his face.
Rutching his backpack higher up on his shoulder, Aizen's gaze lifted again to the murky gray sky. This was no good. His feet felt heavy and there was a dizziness that pulled at him. Stubbornly, he refused to spread his arms for balance, though whether that was to quell his shivering or soothe his pride, Aizen pointedly refused to contemplate. He was already slowing down, and one bleak thought echoed in his mind. He wasn't going to make the rendezvous.
Absently, his gaze fell back to the horizon and arrested on the dark smudge of life he could barely make out in the distant haze. It was a lone figure, too obscure to make out features. It seemed to still as it caught sight of Aizen as well. Drawing himself up to his full height, Aizen uncrossed his arms from his chest. The next lungful of air seemed sharper as he forced himself to take a deep breath. He didn't stop moving, however. Instead, he continued trudging forward, shifting his course gradually toward the figure.
A mix of caution and curiosity gripped him. It was still too far away to tell, at least in this visibility, whether this shape was the person he expected to meet or someone else. Or if it was one of those anomalies, the ones he'd been warned about, that had not yet decided how best to attack. Then again, he mused, If it was one of the other survivors, they may be feeling the same apprehension he was. More, certainly. Even so, Aizen didn't opt to lift his voice just yet. Instead he raised one gloved hand high in the air and waved.
ACCEPTED
A two-story A-frame house. The first floor has a living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, and two bedrooms. The second floor has a master bedroom, master bathroom, and balcony. There's no furniture in this house, but the central heating works for one hour a night--although the exact hour is random. "ALPHONSE ELRIC, STEPHANIE BROWN, EDWARD ELRIC, GREED, DAY SIXTY-TWO, TRAVELLING WEST" is written on the wall, alongside "DEAR FORMER RESIDENT, WE ARE FRIENDS, PLEASE DO NOT FEEL YOU NEED TO HIDE FROM US. CONTACT LELRIC." "House 86 of the map" is written on the wall in marker.
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